Just another congrats for Sunshine!!! Boys are so much fun. I think you will enjoy comparing him to your niece and seeing how different boys are from girls. Another huge milestone passed with flying colors.

Hey all! Sorry it's been so long since I've been on. I've had a busy few weeks with my parents being in town and then getting on the "summer schedule". I have so appreciated all of your kind words, while I have I so deeply sympathized with those that have had hard times and/or frustration in the waiting process, but have so happily enjoyed those with exciting news My last update was that I was going in for a Beta check to see if it went down to zero, which it had. I met with the RE, and discussed some new "plans" for the next cycle, and she suggest some Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Genetic Testing. Unfortunately, we got word back, that my insurance will not cover that, and it's beyond ridiculously expensive!!!! (I guess all of this stuff is, but for blood tests, really?!?!). With that said, I'm in sort of a stalemate right now. I don't want to pay for all of these tests out-of-pocket, but I also don't want to "waste" time and money on another IVF cycle if there's something that could be found of with these tests. My IVF Director is going to talk to the RE to discuss which of these tests are the most critical, and I guess we'll go from there, but I would love any and all advice that you ladies have!

Alisa: I thoroughly enjoy running too, and after having to constantly take a break from it when I'm "cycling", it's one of the only things that gives me solace during the breaks and waiting periods to start again. New running shoes are always very exciting

Jennifer & Ironchef: Good luck during your 2ww- we are all thinking of you, and are confident for a big BFP!

TinaLou: Good luck on your upcoming cycle! We are all here for you!!

Christy: Congratulations on the twins!!!! That is so exciting!! I can't tell you how happy I am for you, and I know that it's scary because it's still a long road ahead, but I'm confident that everything has gone perfectly so far, and will continue to do so for the next 8 1/2 months!! <3

For anyone that I've missed or confused, I'm so incredibly sorry! I've tried to make notes on all updates, but could've slipped on a couple :-/ Love you all, and really enjoy having the love and support of everyone.

Lindsay- thank you so much for your kind encouraging words. They made my day. My next ultrasound is Wednesday and I am hoping to still see 2 beating hearts. I am really nervous for this one as this is the same time I lost my last pregnancy (the ultrasound after I saw the heartbeat) and it was really hard. But I am staying positive and going on the fact that this time everything has been going more smoothly! Thank you again so much. Your words meant a lot to me.-Christy

Hi again Lindsay- I was just reading back on your update and wanted to respond. I have had recurrent miscarriages for years. I can usually get pregnant with IVF but lose the pregnancy early on. This was becoming such a pattern that my RE recommended we do PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis). Not sure if this is one of the tests your RE mentioned to you? Anyway we faced the same thing.... Insurance wouldn't pay for it and its an additional high cost to the already expensive IVF cycle. We weren't too stoked on that. But after going through the same miscarriage pattern so many times we also didn't want to just repeat the same IVF process over and over if trying something different would help- so we decided to do it. The first cycle I did last Dec. i only did an egg retrieval and just banked eggs for them to test ( the PGD cost usually covers testing 8 fertilized eggs) since we usually don't get that many fertilized with one cycle we decided to use the eggs from 2 cycles. ( does that make sense?) In march of this year we did a full cycle. We took the retrieved, fertilized eggs and sent them off for the PGD testing ( along with the ones we had banked from Dec). We got the test results back quickly and it was fascinating. You are basically able to see if you have any chromosomally normal embryos or not. Our dr's thought was that the reason I kept miscarrying was because the embryos weren't chromosomally normal and were therefore, unable to survive and grow. Out of 13 eggs we tested 7 of ours were normal!! This gave us hope! 2 of those tested embryos were transferred in May and I saw the heartbeats of them last week!! I don't know if the testing made the difference and I obviously am not through the woods with this pregnancy but it has been a stronger start and shown more good signs than the previous ones. For us, it was a good thing to do the PGD and get more information. I think it depends on your situation and where you are at in your IVF journey. Please feel free to ask me any other questions you have about it. Wishing you lots of luck with whatever you decide!!-christy

Christy- thanks for your story. Our recent loss is our first loss ( well second really if you count a chemical I had in our first cycle). We have transferred 17 embryos now and are considering testing to improve our chances. Praying for a great ultrasound for you.

Lindsay- sorry it's so expensive! Ugh....it's good that you are taking some time to think. Hugs.

AFM- my beta is already down to 520. Last week was terrible but things are looking up day by day. I am very happy with the beta since it reached nearly 11,000 (and probably more when I was off meds for a couple days). One difficult step closer to our baby.

Thanks Alisa-My stomach is a nervous wreck today. Hoping all goes well tomorrow. I'm so sorry for your recent loss. The furthest I've ever gotten is 8 weeks and that is hard. Please know my thoughts are with you. I know how difficult it can be. Thanks for your support to me. You are a strong girly!!

Lindsay- I'm sorry I don't have much insight to offer on your situation. I do PGD testing with all my cycles for Sickle Cell Anemia. It is expensive as hell, but we had no choice . Send you cyber hugs and keeping you in my prayers. Hoping you can make the best decision for your family.

Christy - good luck tomorrow!! I know you can't wait to see you little ones again!! I pray that all goes well.

Alisa - great news on your beta!! Sounds like you are right on track to keep moving forward.

AFM - Beta in the morning. I'm nervous but not ridiculously so! I just praying that my one embryo was a strong survivor and stuck. I'm here analyzing symptoms, but keep reminding myself about the massive amounts of Progesterone in my body. I do not POAS before my betas because it just gives me one more thing to obsess and freak over! Wish me luck !!

Update: had my ultrasound this morning and both little heartbeats are still pumping away!! Twin A measuring 11mm and twin B 12 mm. I am so relieved and happy!! One more ultrasound next week with my RE and then on to the OB for the rest. Hoping everything continues as well as it has so far. Thanks for your kind comments and support. Felicia- thinking of you today.

Christy - I'm soo excited for you!!! I know how nervous you are until you hear those lovely heartbeats!! Congrats!! You are almost to your OB where it gets even more exciting!!

AFM - well my beta came back positive at a dismal 7!!!! I'm not sure what to make of it. My RE's nurse called me to tell me to stop my meds and then 10 mins later the RE called himself and told me to wait. Apparently the cutoff for BFP and BFN is 5 with results being questionable at 5-25. He doesn't think it will result in a "normal pregnancy" but has also seen it start off low and pick up and do fine. as such he just wants us to see how it plays out and have another beta of Friday. So I'm in limbo until Friday. I'm not too hopeful but not wanting to lose faith. I've been reading stories of women with horribly low betas who go on to have healthy babies. I'm 9dp5dt with no real symptoms either way. No bleeding, but a little cramping here and there (which I had all through my first pregnancy). I broke down and bought some pregnancy tests, I'm not sure why because I think my evel is too low to get a BFP on a HPT anyways. It would be just one more thing for me to freak out over. So we just keep in prayer until Friday.

Felicia- I'm so sorry you are in limbo. I know how frustrating that can be. I will keep sending good thoughts your way and hope that things can be resolved soon. Friday is coming up so at least you can know in a couple days but I know each hour can be agony when you're waiting. I'm so sorry. Sending positive thoughts!-Christy